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The following story was sent by a friend and reader to
share with the Chronicle. We rarely get a chance to see another
country’s editorial about the USA. It is from a Romanian newspaper and
was written by Cornel Nistorescu. The title means Ode to America and was
published in The Daily Event
or “News of the Day.”
--An Ode to America--
Why are Americans so united? They would not resemble one
another even if you painted them all one color! They speak all the
languages of the world and form an astonishing mixture of civilizations
and religious beliefs.
On 9/11, the American tragedy turned 300 million people
into a hand put on the heart. Nobody rushed to accuse the White House,
the Army, or the Secret Service that they are only a bunch of losers.
Nobody rushed to empty their bank accounts. Nobody rushed out onto the
streets nearby to gape about.
Instead, the Americans volunteered to donate blood and
to give a helping hand.
After the first moments of panic, they raised their flag
over the smoking ruins, putting on T-shirts, caps and ties in the colors
of the national flag. They placed flags on buildings and cars as if in
every place and on every car a government official or the president was
passing. On every occasion, they started singing ‘God Bless America!’
I watched the live broadcast and rerun after rerun for
hours listening to the story of the guy who went down 100 floors with a
woman in a wheelchair without knowing who she was, or of the Californian
hockey player, who gave his life fighting with the terrorists, and
prevented the plane from hitting a target that could have killed other
hundreds or thousands of people.
How on earth were they able to respond united as one
human being? Imperceptibly, with every word and musical note, the memory
of some turned into a modern myth of tragic heroes. And with every phone
call, millions and millions of dollars were put into a collection aimed
at rewarding not a man or a family, but a spirit, which no money can
buy. What on earth can unite the Americans in such way? Their land?
Their history? Their economic power? Money? I tried for hours to find an
answer, humming songs and murmuring phrases with the risk of sounding
commonplace, I thought things
over. I reached only one conclusion . . . Only freedom can work such
miracles.
--Cornel Nistorescu
Do you remember the song of a few years back, “Freedom
Isn’t Free?” Our freedom is something we all must work to keep. We must
be involved by knowing what is going on in our country. We are Americans
and we care! Don’t just sit there, do something!
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